Long-term treatment with Ponvory (ponesimod) safely and effectively reduces the rate of relapses, slows disability worsening, and prevents brain volume decline in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). That’s according to eight years of data from patients enrolled in a now-completed Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT01006265) and its…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with rituximab were more than five times less likely to experience a relapse compared with patients given Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate), according to data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Patients on the experimental therapy also were 32% more likely to have no evidence…

Treatment with Aubagio (teriflunomide) may significantly reduce the risk of relapse in children with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new analysis of the TERIKIDS clinical trial that took into account data from adult trials. Results were in the paper “Reinterpreting Clinical Trials in Children With…

Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) may be an effective treatment option for patients with early relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) who fail to respond adequately to glatiramer acetate, according to a post-hoc analysis of an observational study. The findings were reported in an article, “Effectiveness…

Cigarette smoking increases the relapse rate in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who are being treated with interferon-beta, a study suggests. The findings suggest that RRMS patients who smoke may have fewer relapses if they quit. An article on the results, “Smoking affects the interferon beta treatment response in multiple sclerosis,” appeared in the journal Neurology. A number of studies have looked at the link between environmental and lifestyle factors and the risk of developing MS. These factors include how much sunlight and vitamin D patients get and whether they have an Epstein-Barr virus infection. Cigarette smoking is a well-documented risk factor in MS, but most of the studies on it have focused on the link between smoking and MS, or the link between smoking and the  disease's progression. “Studies that addressed the relationship between smoking and disease activity in RRMS are rarer,” the researchers wrote. The team decided to investigate whether smoking during interferon-beta treatment would affect relapse rates. Previous research had set the stage for the study by showing a link between smoking and gene mutations that make people more susceptible to developing MS. The mutations were in the HLA and NAT1 genes. The team looked at DNA from 834 RRMS patients in the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Biobank who were treated with interferon-beta. Well-known brand names of the treatment include Rebif, Avonex, and Plegridy. There are also other brand names and biosimilar drugs. Researchers also looked at patients’ medical records two years before they started on interferon-beta. Before making any conclusions on possible links between smoking and patients' relapse rate, the team adjusted for patients’ sex, age at the start of treatment, and number of relapses in the two years before treatment began. Their key conclusion was that smoking increased by more than a quarter the number of relapses in patients on interferon-beta therapy. “Each pack of cigarettes more per day during IFN-β [interferon-beta] treatment increased the number of relapses by 27%,” the team wrote. The researchers found no association among smoking, relapses, and mutations of the HLA or NAT1 genes. “Our results confirm that lifestyle factors are important in MS, suggesting that smoking cessation may be associated with a reduction in disease activity,” they wrote. “Although not formally proving that smoking cessation will decrease disease activity in RRMS, the results should encourage physicians to inform patients with MS about the harmful effect of smoking and increase focus on smoking cessation,” they observed.

Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) may be more effective in preventing relapses in multiple sclerosis patients than the newly approved Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), according to a study presented April 28 at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2017 Annual Meeting in Boston. The study, supported by Sanofi Genzyme and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, compared…

Actelion announced that it will investigate the therapeutic potential of a new, oral combination therapy with ponesimod and Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) as a treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). The Phase 3 clinical study, being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), aims to find…

Merck recently presented new efficacy data from its three Phase 3 clinical trials, showing that a relatively short course of treatment with Cladribine tablets led to long-term reductions in annualized relapse rate (ARR) in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). The data were given in two oral presentation at the 32nd Congress of the…

Genmab announced plans to soon begin a Phase 3 clinical trial program assessing the subcutaneous formulation of ofatumumab as a potential treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The company, working in collaboration with its partner Novartis, will begin enrolling patients in September in trials that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of ofatumumab compared…

Celgene Corporation announced the results from an extension study of the RADIANCE Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating ozanimod in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The results were also presented at the recent Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ozanimod is a small…

New research evaluating fingolimod’s clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) largely supported its use, finding that the oral drug’s efficacy in a real-world setting was comparable to results observed in Phase 3 clinical studies. The research article, “Efficacy and Safety of Fingolimod in an Unselected…